As we discussed months ago, TrueSkill2 marks players for anomalous behavior which can flag the ban processor.
The banning system is now banning consistently for this behavior, starting at 14 days, and quickly escalating into permanence.
Also, note that the banning system will not only ban the flagged account, but also other accounts and consoles associated with it.
We suggest playing normally to avoid these bans.
I don't believe creating an alternate account and playing normally will flag, but outside of that will be risky.
So play nice, play fair.
Perm banning people who payed to play your game, alongside automation?
This is a recipe for disaster.
I have no qualms about automatically permanently banning players who repeatedly and intentionally ruin the game for other players. If that's all those players are doing in the game, then the terms of service are pretty clear.
Consumer wise, I do have doubts. Automation in general will always be a risky thing because of the potential of false flagging, cracks in the system, etc. If it was manually revived/based, I would never have a problem with this, nor would I be bringing up this point.
And like I said with perm bans, this goes back to the point of your paying customers. Yes, that would help the potential bronze/silver/etc. players, if lets say, someone in diamond was smurfing, but what about the person who put in money to play your game that is in diamond? They are stuck with an unplayable game, which keep in mind, they PAID for. (And if you wanted to go further, I disagree with automated bans in other games as well) it's just generally anti-consumer and unwelcoming.
Edit: what also comes to mind is people using 2nd accounts to warm up (Not for smurfing purposes, keep that in mind.) If they have a bad day warming up, but are trying their best to win, (let's say, 5 in 15 in one game, 7 and 18 the next, etc.) Without any sign of improvement (or being average) that day, would they intentionally be pushing for "smurfing/attempting to manipulate matchmaking" under those circumstances when they tried to play on their main account, assuming they warmed up afterwards?
What about the days where people are just having good games? Surely your system should be able to account for those off times, right? Otherwise, why automate it?
Not really. You're getting rid of people that are harming the community and the player base. Thus allowing the majority of the people that play the game to have a more enjoyable time and thus have more positive things to say about the game which would mean more positive thoughts out pouring to the community. Pouring out the spoiled milk can only make the fridge smell a bit better.
Same could be said with the opposition of long time players that potentially get affected by this automated system, though, correct? (In regards to an enjoyable time. No, I don't mean with abusing the system, I mean with being able to simply play the game.)
I'll agree with you in the sense that this is a double edged sword, and there is no perfect way to tackle the problem. But I think blocking out players out of the game for life when they paid for it isn't fair to the consumer either, would you agree?
Yes, there are terms. Yes, I support you enforcing them. No, I don't agree with a lifetime ban in regards to playing the game.